1961: Winter 2013

Hurricane Sandy flooding did not reach Kathy Baum Wolpe’s block in Lower Manhattan, but the electricity was off for a week, and luckily she was able to stay elsewhere. She visited Montego Bay in late August for the wedding of a nephew and spent Thanksgiving in Colorado Springs with her brother. Sandy Murphy Schmidt and Bob continue to weather the storms of life, including Hurricane Sandy. They got to see the cave paintings in Altamira on a great tour of Northern Spain and Portugal. Back in the U.S., they danced to the “oldies” at her 55th Phillipsburg High School reunion (I did the same with my friend Douglas at my 55th Altoona High School reunion in September). Sandy and Jeanette Phelps ’59 juggle volunteer hours and doctor’s appointment’s so that they can take advantage of all Baltimore has to offer.

Vivian Bruckel Harvey spent five weeks in India with a USAID program that involved visiting three agricultural colleges in two low-income areas. The hospitality of the students and faculty members was wonderful as was the scenery, especially the sight of a full moon over the River Ganges. On Dec. 19, she planned to return to Guatemala for four months, working with Mayan families and hosting three groups from the United States for 10 days each. If anyone wants information on traveling to Guatemala or would like to visit her there, you may contact her at www.vivianharvey.com. Hilda Koontz wrote that she and Spencer are immersed in Civil War sesquicentennial events. After spending two weeks at Antietam events, they were headed for Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 7-9. Next year will be the big events at Gettysburg, Pa. They were filmed at Harpers Ferry, W.Va., as part of the film The Men Who Built America. She is very happy because of the birth of her first granddaughter; she already has three grandsons. From the responses this time, it looks like a lot of us devote time to our grandchildren.

Muff Wright Peterson wrote that she lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland not far from her childhood home and midway between her children and five grandchildren ranging in age from 24 years to 12 weeks old. She remarked that she has such wonderful memories of our 50th reunion. Phyllis Alligretti Panico reported that she has retired from Astra Zeneca and the G.W. faculty and is now living in a senior community; she likes it very much. She has had some health problems but it has not kept her from interacting with her eight grandchildren, playing bridge, tennis and attending Bible study, plus writing articles for a local digest. Hope Paulson Carmen is also enjoying her granddaughters and said they are as different as day and night. Fran McCauley King reported that she is still the director of the pre-school at her church in Lancaster, Pa. Her husband of two years, John, and she sing in the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Chorus and enjoy seeing friends. Her son who lives near Richmond, Va., (Ashland) teaches advanced placement American history and has two daughters, ages 12 and 14. Her daughter and husband live in Connecticut and planned to move into a new home in the middle of December.

Anne Grenfell reported that her granddaughter Jenna is enjoying life at Widener Univ., in Chester, Pa., and her grandsons, Jeffery and Gunnar, are doing well in school and extracurricular activities. She has really started to write in earnest, a nonfiction book about her life with her husband Pasco. She plans on finishing it and getting it published next year. She is tutoring elementary students in math and English, does yoga and Pilates, Zumba dancing and of course, ballroom dancing with Michael. She certainly has the energy level to be envious of! Our condolences go out to Marilyn King Jessen who lost her beloved husband George in August. They had been married for nine years and had enjoyed many wonderful trips. She is thankful that her son now lives close to her in Virginia Beach. She also reported that Jan Bettman Leslie and Dave have moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to be close to their son and family. Marilyn enjoyed having lunch with Jan while she was living in Williamsburg, Va. Well, I, Doretta Ruggles Allison, plan to move five houses up the street into my renovated home in January. Everything will be new except for the brick walls and the foundation. I will have a dream kitchen that I designed and a lovely sunroom in the treetops and many other upgrades. After I get settled in, I will issue an invitation for you all to visit!

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